It is a good decision from Madhvan, as it do not look ethical professional behave to fight with someone for years and then start working with them. And if someone does that then he will be working against his sayings.

I wonder about that. Sure, in theory, I am sure a lot of companies would like to add Rajeev to their payroll. But Rajeev has been a CEO for more than 10 years. I don't see him becoming VP of marketing for another company. This is why, even if all the stuff about de Geus and Rajeev not getting along is not true, there is basically no room for him at Synopsys. They already have a CEO. Ditto Mentor. Now Cadence, if you believe the talk about Lip Bu Tan looking to replace himself and go back to being a VC and board member, that might be interesting. But it's difficult to see Rajeev heading Cadence, I guess in part because he has always been the little guy fighting against the big guys. And anyway, as mentioned above, there almost certainly is a non-compete agreement, so none of those scenarios can play out anytime soon.

Rajeev is going to want to take time off to spend with family. He's sacrificed a great deal of that kind of time for Magma and for Ambit. But a non-compete clause doesn't preclude him from angel investment. This is going to release a lot of investment funds for EDA. http://www.element14.com/community/docs/DOC-41831/l/magma-acquisition-will-light-a-fire-under-the-eda-industry

In theory, there is ample scope, yes, as I do not believe the levels of innovation in EDA have been nearly high enough in the last decade or so. In practice, I am not sure the traditional EDA company business model is exciting enough for investors. Making money out of software alone is very difficult.

I am sure that there was a non-compete agreement. I have a feeling Rajeev's next move is going to be something a little bit outside the box of what he has done so far. Kind of a Joe Costello-like maneuver. Don't know why. It's just a hunch.